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Zverograd
The City of Zverograd “The new home for a better future” In the early 1930s the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union decided to engage in a bold experiment. A new modern city would be built in record time. Though smaller in size, it would compete with the most advanced great capitals of the world. This city would prove to the world that the Soviet Union could accomplish anything. Months were spent selecting the perfect location for this new city, as well as developing its name. It was finally decided that the city would be called Zverograd, and it would be built on the Caspian Sea, some 150 miles south of Astrakhan. It was built on the site of a medieval town, its name long forgotten, with wooden houses built on a hill surrounding an ancient Orthodox monastery. This small historic village was left intact in remembrance of the past, and in the surrounding lands the city of Zverograd started to grow. The best architects in the USSR gathered to plan the city. They decided to create a brand new metro system that would allow workers to quickly reach their factories and move around the city. They designed wide avenues to accommodate stunning parades. They planned modern roads and bridges to connect all parts of the city. They designed the central sewer system to support a much bigger population, expecting Zverograd to grow into one of the largest cities in all the Soviet Union. Finally, only four years after determining its location, the first new residents of Zverograd began to arrive. They came from all over the country, lured by widespread advertising campaigns promoting the city as a modern paradise. The first rumors began to spread in early 1941. Underground metro workers had “found something” while digging an expansion for a new line. They had no idea what it was, but described it as a huge underground structure, impervious to anything they could throw at it. The edifice had an eery feeling about it, as though it didn’t belong down in the darkness beneath the city. An official team was dispatched from Moscow to investigate but, before any conclusion could be reached, German troops crossed the USSR’s western border and the war began. It would be years before the newly formed SSU would refocus its attention on the secrets beneath the once-great city, but now Zverograd has the full attention of the SSU - as well as their enemies. Zverograd Today When the strange discovery was made beneath the city of Zverograd, The Soviet Union failed to keep its secret secure, and soon their enemies became interested as well. No one is really sure what lies below, but all parties have their suspicions. Some say it’s a large underground VK mine. Others, including members of the Allies’ ASOCOM and the Axis’ Blutkreuz Korps, think it could be much more than that. SMERSH has found what looks like an “entrance” to the structure, but have yet to gain access. Time is running short, however, as all three blocs are now fighting to control Zverograd’s secret. The violently executed interest of the enemy blocs has reduced the city to rubble. On the path of the invading Axis Army as it made its way towards the petrol fields of Grozny and Northern Iran, the city was poorly located. Now it is situated at a crossroads between all three blocs, and the city has suffered greatly. Nearly half of the city’s buildings have been destroyed, most are completely roofless, and nearly all remaining windows stand empty and glassless. The medieval town in the city center has burned almost entirely to the ground, the only surviving structure is the sturdy stone monastery. The fight for control of the city is continuous; it has been years since any force has been able to claim it entirely. The underground sewer and metro system is now a battlefield in its own right. The tunnels are heavily guarded by the SSU in their attempt to conceal the “entrance” to the artifact, but heavily-armed enemy kill teams assault their defenses on a daily basis. In their efforts to clear out the tunnels, the Blutkreuz Korps has released uncontrolled squads of Zombies that attack anything in range. Allied troops have requisitioned ever-increasing supplies of flamethrowers, deadly efficient weapons in the confined underground environment. The city is a war zone. More Axis troops arrive each day, fighting for control of every destroyed building or pile of rubble that might grant some cover. The Soviets are dug in; they survived Stalingrad and have firsthand experience with urban combat. Massive Allied offensives are launched regularly from the city’s eastern shores, sending fresh troops straight to the front line... or what remains of it. “The new home for a better future” is now known as “the doomed city.”